This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages exploratory/developmental research grant applications, proposing the development of innovative, collaborative research projects on brain and other nervous system function and disorders throughout life, relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Research on neurological, mental, behavioral, alcohol and substance use disorders may span the full range of science from basic to implementation research. Scientists in the United States (U.S.) or upper-middle income countries (UMICs) are eligible to partner with scientists in LMIC institutions. Scientists in upper middle-income LMICs (UMICs) are also eligible to partner directly with scientists at other LMIC institutions with or without out a US partner. Income categories used are as defined by the World Bank at http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups. These grants are expected to foster the development of more comprehensive research programs that contribute to the long-term goals of building sustainable research capacity in LMICs to address nervous system development, function and impairment throughout life and to lead to diagnostics, prevention, treatment and implementation strategies. The proposed work may also contribute to developing a base for research networking and evidence-based policy beyond the specific research project.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to invite new and re-competing applications to apply to the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Consortia (RDCRC) that comprise the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN). The RDCRCs are intended to advance the diagnosis, management, and treatment of rare diseases with a focus on clinical trial readiness. Each RDCRC will promote highly collaborative, multi-site, patient-centric, translational and clinical research with the intent of addressing unmet clinical trial readiness needs.

The NINDS, with other NIH Institutes and Centers participating in the BRAIN Initiative, intends to publish "BRAIN Initiative Advanced Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity (K99/R00)." The program is designed to increase biomedical research workforce diversity and foster a strong cohort of new, highly skilled and well trained, NIH-supported, independent investigators from underrepresented groups working in research areas supported by the BRAIN Initiative, as highlighted in BRAIN 2025: A Scientific Vision. It is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers with a research and/or clinical doctorate degree from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful mentoring teams and responsive projects. The FOA is expected to be published in April 2018 with an expected application due date in June 2018. This FOA will utilize the K99/R00 funding activity. Details of the planned FOA are provided below. Research Initiative Details The BRAIN Initiative K99/R00 award is intended for women and members of underrepresented groups who are working in research areas supported by the BRAIN Initiative, who have no more than five years of postdoctoral research experience, and who require at least 12 months of mentored research training and career development (K99 phase) before transitioning to the independent research (R00) phase of the program. All research areas within the BRAIN Initiative are encouraged (including but not limited to engineering, computer science, statistics, mathematics, physics, chemistry and neuroethics). Eligible individuals for this program will be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who fall in at least one of three defined categories: 1) women, 2) individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as defined in the Notice of NIH's Inter

The purpose of this FOA is to promote the integration of experimental, analytic, and theoretical capabilities for large-scale analysis of neural systems and circuits. This FOA seeks applications for exploratory research studies that use new and emerging methods for large scale recording and manipulation of neural circuits across multiple brain regions. Applications should propose to elucidate the contributions of dynamic circuit activity to a specific behavioral or neural system. Applications should seek to understand circuits of the central nervous system by systematically controlling stimuli and/or behavior while actively recording and/or manipulating relevant dynamic patterns of neural activity and by measuring the resulting behaviors and/or perceptions. Studies should incorporate rich information on cell-types, on circuit functionality and connectivity, and should be performed in conjunction with sophisticated analysis of complex, ethologically relevant behaviors. Applications should propose teams of investigators that seek to cross boundaries of interdisciplinary collaboration by bridging fields and linking theory and data analysis to experimental design. Exploratory studies supported by this FOA are intended to develop experimental capabilities and quantitative, theoretical frameworks in preparation for a future competition for larger-scale, multi-component, Team-Research BRAIN Circuit Programs (U19).